Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett called for an investigation into The Second Mile, the…
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Take Bill Greenlee, who served on The Second Mile board until 2004. Greenlee died last year and never gave money directly to Corbett. But he founded Greenlee Associates (now called Greenlee Partners), one of the top lobbying firms in Pennsylvania. And Greenlee Partners donated $36,535.19 to Corbett's 2010 gubernatorial campaign, with another $1,000 coming from Vanessa Getz, one of the firm's top employees. In 2007 and 2008, Greenlee Partners gave $2,000 to Corbett, when the then-attorney general was running for reelection. The firm also gave money to Corbett when ran for attorney general in 2004—his first campaign—and in the subsequent year. From 2003-2005, the firm donated $13,295.02 to Corbett. [Note: That figure includes a $1,500 contriubtion credited to "Greenlee Associates" because the checks came from the same PO Box in Harrisburg.] The total amount transferred from Greenlee's firm to Corbett's political coffers: $51,830.21.

Another longtime and current board member of The Second Mile is Louie Sheetz, the Executive Vice President of Marketing at Sheetz, Inc., a successful chain of gas stations and convenience stores. Like Greenlee, Sheetz hasn't given money directly to Corbett. But his family-owned company and his family have. Corbett received $106,000 in Sheetz, Inc. money for his 2010 gubernatorial run. In prior election cycles, Sheetz, Inc. and Sheetz family members donated $7,350 to Corbett, bringing the Sheetz total to $113,350. [Note: Sheetz, Inc. also donated $20,000-$49,999 to The Second Mile in 2010 and currently has the company's public relations manager, Monica Jones, sitting on the charity's central board.]

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A smaller but still representative money tendril is associated with Michael Gillespie, the chief accounting officer of the Hersha Hospitality Trust and a director on The Second Mile's southcentral board. Gillespie only gave Corbett $250 in 2010. But Gillespie's co-workers gave Corbett $7,142.80. Of the eight other employees listed on the hospitality trust's website, four gave to Corbett, as did the chairman of the trust's board and the chief investment officer for the Hersha Group, which oversees the trust. Two other employees of the Hersha Group gave to Corbett's gubernatorial campaign, bringing the total to $8,642.80.

The surface donations are easy enough to count up. We've already covered that ground. But it's also worthwhile to look at how much money these people have donated to Corbett since 2003, when he first ran for public office. Same goes for how much money Corbett received from companies or people with strong ties to directors on the charity's boards. At the very least, even the indirect connections show, again, how influential and well-connected The Second Mile is.

Bruce Heim, Director
Chairman, Keystone Real Estate Group, LP
2009-2010 cycle: $1,000
Other years: $2,500
Total: $3,500
[Note: Three other current or former Keystone employees—Al Pringle, Michael Trombley, and Ben Heim—are both Corbett donors and current or former members of the charity's boards. Their donations are listed below.]

Current state board members whose companies and/or families donated to Corbett:

Jake Corman, Director
Pennsylvania State Senator
Corman's father, J. Doyle Corman, Jr., a former state senator, gave Corbett $600 in the 2009-2010 cycle. In past cycles, Corbett received a combined $6,912 from Corman's parents and the senator's "Friends of Jake Corman" PAC.
Total: $7,512

Mike Fiaschetti, Director
Senior Vice President, Highmark Blue Shield
Highmark health insurer is a major Corbett donor. The company donated $21,250 to Corbett's 2010 gubernatorial campaign. The company's chief legal counsel, Gary Truitt, gave $5,000. (Truitt retired last year.) Another employee donated $300. Contributions from Highmark and its employees from previous years: $17,300.
Total: $43,850
[Note: The Highmark Foundation, the company's charitable wing, is also a big donor to The Second Mile.]

Ray Roundtree, Director
Regional Vice President of Finance, Comcast Cable
Comcast donated $69,500 to Corbett in the 2009-2010 cycle. Comcast employees gave $36,300. Comcast and its employees did not give money to Corbett before his gubernatorial run.
Total: $105,800

DrueAnne Schreyer, Director
Community Volunteer
DrueAnne Schreyer is a longtime member of the board and the daughter of former Merril Lynch CEO William Schreyer, a Penn State alum who served two terms as the president of the school's board of trustees. Schreyer gave PSU $55 million to create an honors college at the school called the Schreyer Honors College. In 2010, he gave Corbett $10,000.
Total: $10,000

Matthew Sommer, Director
Vice President of Natural Gas and Electricity for Shipley Energy
William Shipley, the CEO of the Shipley Group, gave Corbett $10,000 in 2010, and $1,000 in 2008.
Total: $11,000

Karen Creasia Yarrish, Director
Vice President, Secretary & General Counsel, Penn National Insurance
Corbett received $9,150 from Penn National insurance for his gubernatorial campaign. The company gave him $1,100 in previous cycles.
Total: $10,250

UPDATE: Eddie Dunklebarger is also on the 2011 state board. Dunklebarger is the CEO and president of Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc., which gave $6,000 to Corbett's gubernatorial campaign and which we forgot to include in the tally. New grand total: $647,481.21